Ryan Dorsey, the ex husband of Naya Rivera and father of their son Josey, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit four months after the actress accidentally drowned in a lake.
Acting on Josey’s behalf, Dorsey and Rivera’s estate are suing Ventura County, California, as well as United Water Conservation District and the county’s Parks and Recreation Management. The suit reportedly lays accusations of wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Us Weekly reports that the complaint alleges that Rivera’s death was preventable and that the boat Naya Rivera and Josey had rented from Lake Piru breached U.S. Coast Guard safety standards.
“[The boat] was not equipped with a safely accessible ladder, adequate rope, an anchor, a radio or any security mechanisms to prevent swimmers from being separated from their boats,” the court documents claim.
“Disturbingly, later inspection revealed that the boat was not even equipped with any flotation or lifesaving devices, in direct violation of California law, which requires that all pontoons longer than 16 feet be equipped with flotation devices.”
Credit: Getty.
The publication adds that according to a report released by the Ventura County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, an employee found Josey “wearing a life vest,” whereas Naya Rivera did not have a vest on when found.
The lawsuit also alleges that Lake Piru did not have “a single sign anywhere — not at the entrance, at the dock, at the popular swimming area of Diablo Cove, not anywhere — warning of the lake’s strong currents, low visibility, high winds, changing water depths, underwater caves, ledges and drop offs, or the trees, brush and other debris that congest its waters due to the vastly changing water levels and winds.”
The documents point to the lake’s “deadly history,” noting that “more than two dozen people have drowned” in it since 1959.
Naya Rivera was declared missing after Josey, then 4, was found alone on their rented boat on July 8 this year. After an extensive five-day search, the actor’s body was found in the lake.
